Taking into account the increasing turbulence in international relations, rapidly rising global temperatures and many other factors, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists decided to move the Doomsday Clock 30 minutes closer to midnight on Thursday. It now stands at two and half minutes to 12 midnight. No one is seemingly free from blame when it comes to this decision, including Donald Trump.

The Doomsday Clock was set up by the Atomic Scientists two years after the invention of the first nuclear bomb in 1945. The clock itself appeared as a picture on a six-page newsletter and has since developed into a full-fledged magazine. Midnight on the clock denotes the ultimate doomsday or apocalypse for the world.

Depending on whether world is in a little worse shape than the previous year, every year the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists gather to decide whether to move the clock closer to midnight or let it be. Taking into consideration every chaotic event that took place in 2016, the scientists have concluded that its time that the clock is moved ahead by 30 seconds. There are several reasons behind them making such a crucial decision.

Adverse Climate Changes

Regardless of the world leaders’ acceptance or denial of global warming as a reality, all evidences point to planet Earth becoming hotter each year. According to Tech Crunch, NASA has already announced that 2016 was the hottest year where average global temperature is concerned. Polar ice caps are melting away leaving species like polar bears with no sustenance or natural habitat.

Then there are man-made environmental hazards that are working to escalate the threats every day. Since most of the national leaders hardly recognize climate change as a big enough headache, there is no effort to check the emission of harmful greenhouse gases. Industries also continue burning fossil fuels to their heart’s content and dumping the toxic residues into rivers and seas.

The Donald Trump Effect

USA has become a double edged-sword when it comes to advancing the Doomsday Clock. The Obama administration did manage to tip the scales by maintaining a less than cordial relation with Russia. According to the official state of the Bulletin, enmity between the two superpowers that possess 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons is never a good sign.

However, Trump’s entry into the scenario and his “friendship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin worsened the situation instead of making it better. His “disturbing comments about the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons” and his “disbelief in the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change” did not present an image of hope. If one throws in Russia’s conflict with NATO and the never-ending dispute between India and Pakistan in the mix, the decision taken by the atomic scientists becomes almost self-explanatory.